Basketball training cover

ABSTRACT

A basketball handling training aid is disclosed, comprising a cover which fits over a basketball. The cover is comprised of a low-friction material which necessitates proper hand position on the basketball in order to maintain control of the ball while dribbling, and in order to achieve accuracy when passing or shooting. In one embodiment, the cover is constructed from a plurality of sections of the material and can be installed on, and removed from, an ordinary basketball as desired by the player. Various designs for fitting the cover securely on the basketball are disclosed. Alternately, the cover can be fabricated with a basketball permanently enclosed within, and the basketball/cover assembly provided as a set.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to a cover for a basketball and, more particularly, to a removable or a permanent cover for a basketball which serves as a training aid for handling the basketball, where the cover is constructed of a low-friction material which necessitates proper hand position on the basketball in order to maintain control of the ball while dribbling, passing or shooting.

Discussion of the Related Art

Handling a basketball—including dribbling, passing and shooting—is something that many people can do, but few people can do very well. One of the reasons most people who play basketball do not excel in the fine skills of the game is that they never learn the proper technique for handling the ball.

Consider, for example, the act of dribbling a basketball. It is fairly easy to dribble a basketball on a flat floor without losing control of the ball. However, when dribbling an ordinary basketball, which offers a relatively high amount of grip or tackiness to the player's hand, some improper techniques can be developed by the player. One such undesirable technique is that the player can get away with receiving the ball in an off-center position in the hand at the top of the dribble, which is compensated for by imparting a side-spin on the ball on the down-flight. Another undesirable technique which is promoted by an ordinary basketball is “palming” the ball, or turning the hand over on the ball at the top of the dribble.

Similarly, proper passing and shooting of a basketball involve techniques which can be overshadowed by friction-related compensations by the player. It would be desirable for a basketball to exhibit low friction characteristics for practice and training purposes, in order to promote proper technique and hand position on the ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a basketball handling training aid is disclosed. A cover is provided which fits over a basketball. The cover is comprised of a low-friction material which necessitates proper hand position on the basketball in order to maintain control of the ball while dribbling, and in order to achieve accuracy when passing or shooting. In one embodiment, the cover is constructed from a plurality of sections of the material and can be installed on, and removed from, an ordinary basketball as desired by the player. Various designs for fitting the cover securely on the basketball are disclosed. Alternately, the cover can be fabricated with a basketball permanently enclosed within, and the basketball/cover assembly provided as a set.

Additional features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a basketball showing proper hand position on the ball when a player is dribbling;

FIG. 2 an illustration of a basketball showing how a high-friction ball surface enables improper hand position on the ball when a player is dribbling;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a basketball with a low-friction training cover shown in a partially cut-away fashion;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the training cover shown in FIG. 3, but without the basketball inside;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the basketball training cover showing a preferred embodiment where the cover is fabricated with a ball-insertion opening covered by broadly overlapping fabric panels; and

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the basketball training cover showing an embodiment where the cover is fabricated with a ball-insertion opening having a zipper closure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following discussion of the embodiments of the invention directed to a low-friction training cover for a basketball is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its applications or uses.

It is not particularly difficult for a person to dribble a basketball if there are no distractions. However, in a game situation where a defender is trying to steal the ball or disrupt the movement of the player dribbling the ball (the dribbler), it is imperative that the dribbler is in complete control of the ball at all times. In these situations, any mishandling or momentary loss of control of the basketball by the dribbler can be exploited by the defender. Furthermore, the dribbler needs to watch the defender and the other players on the court in order to determine what play to make, and therefore must be able to maintain ball control without looking at the ball when dribbling.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a basketball showing proper hand position on the ball when a player is dribbling. A basketball 10 is being dribbled by a player, whose hand 20 is shown. The basketball 10 is at the top of its up-flight, at the time and location where it is being received by the player's hand 20. As would be understood by anyone familiar with the game of basketball, the player does not actually catch the ball 10 when dribbling it, but rather pushes the ball back down toward the floor so as to sustain a controlled bouncing of the ball 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the hand 20 is centered over the ball 10, such that all five fingertips and possibly the palm of the hand 20 make contact with the ball 10. This is the optimal hand position on the ball 10, as it maximizes hand-ball surface contact, and provides a direct downward force on the ball 10 with little or no sidespin-imparting torque.

FIG. 2 an illustration of the basketball 10 showing how a high-friction ball surface allows the player to use improper hand position on the ball 10 when dribbling. In FIG. 2, the basketball 10 is again at the top of its up-flight, but in this case the hand 20 is not centered on the ball 10. It can be seen that the hand 20 is positioned to the left of the center of the ball 10, resulting in a situation where only two fingertips of the hand 20 come in contact with the ball 10. Because the ball 10 is designed to have a relatively high-friction surface, the player can maintain some semblance of control over the ball 10 in the FIG. 2 situation, as the right-most two fingertips can still impart a downward force, and the friction is high enough to prevent the ball 10 from slipping away to the right of the hand 20.

However, the situation shown in FIG. 2 has some undesirable consequences in terms of ball control. First, the ball 10 will not be propelled straight down from the hand 20, but rather down and to the right. This is due to the center of gravity of the ball 10 being to the right of the center of force from the hand 20, and due to the inevitable wrist rotation causing the right-most two fingertips on the hand 20 to have a perpendicular vector which is oriented down and to the right. Because the ball is propelled down and to the right, the player will have to adjust his/her hand position on the next up-flight of the ball to compensate. Second, the off-center push from the fingers of the hand 20 will apply a torque to the ball 10, causing the ball 10 to pick up a rotation or side-spin on the down-flight. This side-spin will further affect the line on which the ball 10 bounces after contacting the floor. Of course, similar undesirable consequences result from other off-center hand-ball contact—including the ball 10 being too far to the left of the hand 20, the ball 10 being too far past the fingertips (too far from the body), the ball 10 contacting only the palm of the hand 20, etc.

The player can likely compensate for an unintentional zig-zagging ball motion in a solo dribbling environment—by watching the ball 10 as it bounces up off the floor and moving his/her hand accordingly—and in fact the player may not even realize that he/she is doing so. But in a game situation, the required compensations will likely cause the dribbler to look down at the ball 10 in order to regain control, thereby enabling a defender to steal the ball 10 or at least knock it away. It is far better for the player to develop a dribbling technique which is sustainable without having to look at the basketball 10. Such a dribbling technique is possible with proper hand position on the ball 10.

For the reasons discussed above, it would be desirable to provide a basketball training environment where, in the off-center hand condition shown in FIG. 2, the player would lose control of the ball 10. This sort of training environment would reinforce the proper hand position on every touch of the ball 10, because the ball 10 would immediately slip away from the player if the hand 20 is positioned too far off center. With continuous reinforcement of proper hand position during dribbling, the player will subconsciously develop better ball handling skills, without needing to look down at the ball when dribbling. Such a training environment can be established by providing a low-friction cover over the ball 10 as discussed below.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the basketball 10 with a low-friction training cover 30 shown in a partially cut-away fashion. The cover 30 is made of a low-friction (silk-like) material, and is designed to completely cover the basketball 10. The cover 30 is comprised of sections 32 which are stitched together to form a spherical shape. The cover 30 is made to fit tightly over the ball 10, without any excess material or bagginess that would disrupt bouncing or handling. As discussed above, the cover 30 has a surface friction which is low enough that, if the dribbler receives the ball 10 with an off-center hand position, as in FIG. 2, the ball 10 will slip away and the player will lose control of the ball 10. Several material and construction embodiments of the cover 30 are discussed below.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are illustrations of the basketball training cover 30 showing a preferred embodiment where the cover 30 is fabricated with a ball-insertion opening 34 bounded by broad fabric panels 36/38, which may overlap or abut to close the opening 34 after the ball 10 is inserted. The opening 34 allows the ball 10 to be selectively inserted into or removed from the cover 30. FIG. 4 shows the cover 30 without the basketball 10 inside, and the ball-insertion opening 34 opened widely, from where the fabric can be stretched to fit the ball 10 through the opening 34. FIG. 5 shows the cover 30 with the ball 10 inside, and the opening 34 closed tightly over the ball 10, ready to be used.

The design shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 allows the cover 30 to be installed on the basketball 10 when the player wants to practice with the ball 10 in the low-friction training mode, and the cover 30 can be removed from the ball 10 as desired. The cover 30 can be constructed by sewing together a plurality of individual fabric sections 32. One embodiment (shown) includes a number (such as six or eight) of identical almond-shaped fabric sections 32 which can be joined by stitching or otherwise into a spherical shape. In another embodiment, the fabric sections 32 have shapes which match the shapes of the sections (between the black lines) on the skin of the basketball 10. Still further embodiments include any combination and pattern of shapes which are used on the skin of other spherical balls—such as baseballs, soccer balls and volleyballs. Additionally, the cover 30 may be comprised of a single piece of fabric with a shape which can be wrapped into a sphere and stitched at the seams. Such a single piece of fabric may have a shape such as that used in world maps where the spherical surface of the Earth is approximated as a flat surface consisting of a number of irregular joined-together lobes, or a “flower” shape with a center and a number of petals extending radially outward from the center.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ball-insertion opening 34 is bounded by overlapping fabric panels 36 and 38 on opposing edges. The basketball 10 is inserted through the opening 34 (FIG. 4), and the overlapping panels 36 and 38 close over the ball 10 and lay flat thereon (FIG. 5—ball 10 visible in small cut-away). Inserting the ball 10 into the opening 34 may preferably include stretching the fabric of the cover 30. The greater the degree of stretch allowed by the fabric, the smaller the opening 34 can be made. It is desirable to use a stretchy fabric and make the opening 34 as small as possible, as this minimizes any effects of the overlapping panels 36/38 while dribbling the ball 10. The use of a stretchy fabric also allows the entire cover 30 to be made in a size which is slightly smaller than the ball 10, such that the cover 30 stretches and fits tightly on the ball 10 when installed. The overlapping panels 36/38 may be provided with hook-and-loop fastener patches to provide a positive closure mechanism, or the design of the cover 30 may rely on the fact that the overlapping panels 36/38 will naturally tend to close the opening 34 when the cover 30 is stretched tightly over the basketball 10.

The cover 30, with the overlapping panels 36/38, may be reversible, such that the cover 30 can be turned inside out to reverse the inside and outside surface of the fabric. Reversibility of the cover 30 may be desirable to expose a new outside surface of the fabric if the previously-used outside surface of the fabric becomes worn or dirty through use.

In another embodiment, the panels 36/38 which bound the opening 34 do not overlap when closed, but rather abut edges. This embodiment avoids increasing the thickness of the cover 30 in the area of the opening 34, thereby offering a potentially truer bounce. In still another embodiment, the panels 36/38 are omitted from the cover 30, and the opening 34 is simply a slit in the material or an unstitched seam between the sections 32. This embodiment, without the fabric panels 36/38, would have no surface irregularities and therefore would offer a very straight and true bounce.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a basketball training cover 40 showing an embodiment where the cover 40 is fabricated with a ball-insertion opening having a zipper closure. In this embodiment, instead of overlapping or abutting fabric panels, an opening 44 is bounded by a zipper 46. The zipper 46 can be zipped closed after the ball 10 is inserted, thereby providing a secure and tight fit of the cover 40 on the ball 10. A zipper fly panel (not shown, for clarity) can be provided which lies over the zipper 46 to minimize bad bounces, where the zipper fly panel has a design as commonly used in articles of apparel such as trousers. The zipper 46 may be of any suitable type—including the type that is completely separable at the start end, as is commonly found on an outerwear jacket. Separability of the two sides of the zipper 46 allows the zipper 46 to be made smaller while still allowing the ball 10 to be inserted into the cover 40, including allowing fabric stretch to increase the size of the opening 44 during ball insertion.

In any of the designs of the covers 30/40 with a ball-insertion opening 34/44, it is likely that the stitching would be reinforced at the ends of the opening for added strength.

The designs for the covers 30/40 as shown in FIGS. 4-6 are desirable because they allow the covers 30/40 to be put onto and taken off of the basketball 10 as desired by the player. For example, the basketball 10 could be a ball that the player already owns; the cover 30/40 could be installed on the ball 10 for practice and training, and the cover 30/40 could be removed for regular usage of the ball 10 in a game.

The cover 30 could also be fabricated so that it is permanently fitted on the ball 10, and the combination ball/cover provided as a complete assembly. This embodiment has the advantage of eliminating any non-uniformities associated with openings for a removable ball. A permanent version of the cover 30 could be produced by stitching together all of the panels of the cover 30 except for one seam, then inserting the ball 10 in an uninflated or partially-inflated condition. The stitching of the remaining seam could then be completed, resulting in the cover 30 being complete and fully stitched, with the ball 10 still uninflated. An inflation needle can then be inserted through the fabric of the cover 30 and into the valve of the ball 10 for ball inflation. The technique described here, where the stitching of the cover 30 is completed with the ball uninflated, may be desirable because it provides slack material to make the final stitching easier to accomplish. The technique also allows for the cover 30 to be fabricated in a size which will fit tightly on the ball 10 when the ball 10 is fully inflated. Alternately, the cover 30 could be permanently fabricated directly over a fully inflated ball.

Other types of removable basketball training cover designs could also be provided. Examples include a one-piece clam-shell design (two halves attached only across a short portion of the adjoining edges) and a two-piece design with either a circumferential zipper or hook-and-loop fastener, where these designs allow for easy insertion and removal of the basketball 10.

A variety of different materials could be used for the fabric sections 32 of the cover 30/40. Material examples include, but are not limited to, charmeuse, rayon-polyester blend spandex, silk and any other low-friction material. Low coefficient of friction, at least on the outside of the material, is essential for the intended purpose. A coefficient of friction of 0.4 or lower (between the material of the fabric sections 32 and the hand 20 of the player) is desirable, where the value of 0.4 is significantly lower than the coefficient of friction between the basketball 10 and the hand 20. As discussed above, it is also desirable for the material to have a fairly large amount of stretchiness, which allows the size of the ball opening 34 or 44 to be minimized, and also allows the nominal cover size to be made slightly smaller than the basketball size—thereby providing a tight fit of the cover 30/40 over the ball 10.

Basketballs are made in several different standard sizes, ranging from small sizes intended for use by young players through “full-size” balls used by collegiate and professional players. All of the designs of the cover 30/40 described above and shown in the figures would be provided in a variety of sizes to fit all of the standard basketball sizes—including, but not limited to, basketballs with a nominal circumference of 22.0″, 25.5″, 27.5″, 28.5″ and 29.5″.

The low-friction basketball cover discussed above provides for a training environment in which a player can develop improved ball handling skills. By virtue of its low-friction surface which causes the player to immediately lose control of the ball if improper hand position is used, the training cover continuously reinforces proper hand position when dribbling the basketball, thereby giving the player the skill and confidence needed to dribble without looking at the ball in game situations.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion and from the accompanying drawings and claims that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. A training aid for a basketball comprising a cover, said cover being comprised of a single piece of fabric suitably shaped to form a sphere when stitched together along its edges, where the cover is installable over an exterior surface of the basketball to provide a lower coefficient of friction than the exterior surface of the basketball, and where the sphere has an unstretched diameter which is smaller than an inflated diameter of the basketball such that the basketball must be inflated after placing the basketball inside the cover, and inflating the basketball to the inflated diameter causes the cover to stretch to a diameter larger than the unstretched diameter.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The training aid of claim 1 wherein the cover includes an opening suitable for selectively placing the basketball inside the cover and removing the basketball from inside the cover.
 4. The training aid of claim 3 wherein the opening is bounded along its peripheral edges by two fabric panels, where one of the panels defines each of the peripheral edges of the opening, and where the panels overlap or abut to close the opening when the basketball is completely inserted into the cover through the opening.
 5. The training aid of claim 3 wherein the opening has a size, defined by a total length of its peripheral edges, which is smaller than the basketball in the uninflated state, so that the basketball will only fit through the opening by stretching the fabric.
 6. The training aid of claim 3 wherein the cover is reversible, such that the cover can be turned inside out through the opening to reverse interior and exterior surfaces of the fabric.
 7. The training aid of claim 3 wherein the opening is bounded along its peripheral edges by a zipper, where the zipper is openable to allow for insertion of the basketball into the cover, and the zipper is closable to secure the basketball inside the cover.
 8. The training aid of claim 7 further comprising a zipper fly panel which lays flat over the zipper after the ball is inserted in the cover and the zipper is closed.
 9. The training aid of claim 1 wherein the single piece of fabric of the cover is stitched together with the basketball permanently inside.
 10. (canceled)
 11. The training aid of claim 1 wherein the fabric has a coefficient of friction, in contact with a player's hand, of less than or equal to 0.40.
 12. The training aid of claim 1 wherein the fabric is composed of a rayon-polyester spandex material.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The training aid of claim 1 wherein the inflated diameter of the basketball corresponds to a basketball nominal circumference of 22.0, 25.5, 27.5, 28.5 or 29.5 inches.
 15. A training aid for a basketball comprising a cover, said cover being comprised of a plurality of sections of a fabric, where the sections are stitched together into a spherical shape substantially matching a shape of the basketball, where the cover is installable over an exterior surface of the basketball to provide a lower coefficient of friction than the exterior surface of the basketball, and where the sphere has an unstretched diameter which is smaller than an inflated diameter of the basketball such that the basketball must be inflated after placing the basketball inside the cover, and inflating the basketball to the inflated diameter causes the cover to stretch to a diameter larger than the unstretched diameter, wherein the cover includes an opening bounded by two peripheral edges, said opening being suitable for placing the basketball inside the cover and removing the basketball from inside the cover, and where the opening has a size, defined by a total length of the peripheral edges, which is smaller than the basketball in its uninflated state, so that the basketball in its uninflated state will only fit through the opening by stretching the fabric.
 16. The training aid of claim 15 wherein the opening is bounded along the peripheral edges by two fabric panels, where one of the panels defines each of the peripheral edges of the opening, and where the panels overlap or abut to close the opening when the basketball is completely inserted into the cover through the opening.
 17. The training aid of claim 15 wherein the opening is bounded along the peripheral edges by a zipper, where the zipper is openable to allow for insertion of the basketball into the cover, and the zipper is closable to secure the basketball inside the cover, and further comprising a zipper fly panel which lays flat over the zipper after the ball is inserted in the cover and the zipper is closed. 18.-20. (canceled)
 21. A method for converting a standard basketball into a low-friction training basketball, said method comprising: providing a basketball in an uninflated state; providing a training cover, said cover being comprised of one or more pieces of fabric suitably shaped to form a sphere when stitched together along its edges, where the cover is installable over an exterior surface of the basketball to provide a lower coefficient of friction than the exterior surface of the basketball, and where the sphere has an unstretched diameter which is smaller than an inflated diameter of the basketball such that the basketball must be inflated after placing the basketball inside the cover; placing the basketball inside the cover through an opening in the cover, where the opening has a size, defined by a total length of its peripheral edges, which is smaller than the basketball in the uninflated state, so that the basketball in the uninflated state will only fit through the opening by stretching the fabric; and inflating the basketball to the inflated diameter, causing the cover to stretch to a diameter larger than the unstretched diameter.
 22. The method of claim 21 further comprising stitching the edges of the opening together, before inflating the basketball, to permanently enclose the basketball within the cover. 